Shigeru Ishiba set to become Japan's next prime minister

Tokyo: Japan's former Defence Minister Shigeru Ishiba is set to become the country's next prime minister after winning the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election on Friday.

Ishiba wins LDP presidential election
Ishiba, 67, in a runoff vote, defeated economic security minister Sanae Takaichi, Kyodo news outlet reported. Takaichi received 194 votes to Ishiba's 215, narrowly missing the chance to become Japan's first woman prime minister. Takaichi had contested against Kishida in 2021.

Kishida steps down after August announcement
The vote comes after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's announcement in August that he would not stand for re-election. The LDP has a majority in parliament and thus picks the prime ministers.

Ishiba prepares to form new Cabinet
Ishiba, who formerly also served as Japan's agriculture minister, is expected to select new LDP executives on Monday and form his Cabinet after being elected prime minister at an extraordinary Diet session that is set to begin on October 1.

Other candidates in the race
Other candidates who contested the elections were former Environment Minister Shinjiro Koizumi, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, former economic security minister Takayuki Kobayashi, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, Digital Minister Taro Kono, and former health minister Katsunobu Kato.

Ishiba faces economic and regional challenges
Ishiba is set to helm the world’s fourth-largest economy in the face of a weakening yen, inflation, growing national debt, and wage stagnation. The country also contends with increasing tensions in the Asia-Pacific, North Korea's nuclear ambitions, and China’s growing military threats. He is a strong backer of Taiwanese democracy and has proposed creating an "Asian NATO" to counter security threats from China and North Korea, as per the Washington Times.

Scepticism over Ishiba’s Asian NATO Proposal
Considered a defence policy expert, Ishiba’s idea of an Asian version of NATO has drawn scepticism from many observers in Washington, the US daily reported.

(With ANI inputs)